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October 23, 2004
We Need Cheaper Lives
It's a sad truth of the current occupation of Iraq that the only kind of human cost that has a political effect is lives of Westerners. Unsurprisingly, the war-mongerers have been looking around for cheaper lives. Central America --long a victim of our brutal campaigns-- seems to be as good a place as any:
For many Salvadorans, the newspaper ad seemed too good to be true: A U.S. company willing to pay experienced security guards a minimum of $1,700 a month to work outside the country. Never mind that it was Iraq.Hundreds showed up for the interview, and few were dissuaded by the prospect of working in a nation now infamous for beheadings of foreigners by terrorist groups.
"No one lives forever," said Saturnino Hernandez Castilian, 40, the father of four children. "God says how far I am going to get. We may die here or we may die there. If we survive we are going to benefit. If we die, our family will be OK."
The company provides insurance, so if the guards are wounded or killed, their relatives will be taken care of.
Many of Iraq's recent victims have been private contractors from poor nations, lured by high wages. But as violence increases in Iraq and nations like Bulgaria and the Philippines urge their citizens to avoid working there, private contractors are looking toward some Latin American countries, where kidnappings are common and war is nothing new.
Which brings me to the buzz of the week, the draft. Frankly, while hiring large numbers of mercenaries from poor countries seems quite likely, I don't think there is any chance that either Kerry or Bush --or any American president, barring a very significant change in world circumstances-- would even think about reinstating the draft, the one thing that is sure to wake the shopping masses. And places like El Salvador, Chile and Colombia --considered likely places for recruitment-- are perfect, aren't they? They've suffered thorugh brutal civil wars and/or military dictatorships, with a lot of help from us, so have a large supply of ex-paramilitaries, soldiers and plain old poor people who know how to use a gun. And many are desparate for a job that would allow them to lift their family out of poverty but have very few opportunities to do so. And while our media will mourn every American soldier killed in Iraq --listing their name, presenting their face, interviewing their mourning family--, the Iraqis, the Nepalese, the Salvadorans, [fill in name of brown people] are a large undifferentiated mass of humanity that garner little to no sympathy or attention from this side of the line.
And, sad to say, these people will be in a different position than the Nepalese cooks lured to Jordan, kidnapped to Iraq to work for the occupation, re-kidnapped and killed by terrorists claiming to oppose the occupation. It's one thing to take a miserably underpaid job as a cook or a cleaner with an oppressive institution because it's the only way to put food on your family's table. It's another to pick up a gun for $1,700 a month as a part of an imperial power's military in an occupation.
In any case, I suspect whoever has no compulsion blowing up Iraqi police and national guard recruits will have even less compulsion blowing up these people by the hundreds -- and their deaths will hardly register to anyone but their widow and their orphans. Think again, which is more likely: drafting the young ones of the most privileged, pampered, protected people on earth or purchasing large numbers of mercenaries from the brown, battle-hardened, desparate masses of the world?
All that said, I'm slightly pleased that young people are scared of the draft even as I think they are underestimating how valuable keeping them quiet, acquiescent --and shopping-- is to the political system. There are many things they should be scared of that they are apparently not; a false scare here and there might remind them of the instict.
Posted by zeynep at October 23, 2004 06:34 PM
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Comments
I think even the foreign mercenaries plan will run into problems, though. A lot of the Latin American regimes have a very fragile hold on power and face popular resistance that can genuinely contest them. Americans might not care about Latin Americans dying in Iraq, but Latin Americans won't be crazy about it, and their governments could pay the political price for it. They are being devastated by neoliberalism right now, but I get the feeling that returning them to dictatorships is going to be almost impossible. Even in Colombia, as bad as it is, movements have a fighting chance and are giving the regime a run for its money. Part of Uribe's referendum defeat last year had to do with his support for the US war on Iraq (and various stupid statements he made, like when he asked the US to do what they were doing in Iraq).
Militarily such troops won't be as effective as American units. And it won't actually save them all that much money.
Posted by: Justin at October 24, 2004 12:42 AM
I agree that a draft is unlikely under either Bush or Kerry. Some of the rumors about this cite a measure introduced in early 2003 by Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and supported by other House progressives, that was explicitly intended to slow the rush to war, in the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq, by suggesting that the burden of fighting be more equitably distributed. Rangel dropped this proposal after the invasion, it never even got marked up for hearings, and it's due to expire when this Congress adjourns, any week now. Unfortunately people who don't get the politics and are vague on the procedures seized on it as "evidence" that a draft is in the wings.
Posted by: john burke at October 24, 2004 04:22 PM
I think there will be a draft for sure if Bush wins the election. If Kerry wins, I'm not so sure but as he wants to continue the empire building, he might also have to initiate a draft. It is simple arithmetic. You can't have endless war without more bodies. Conning impoverished third world men into fighting our imperialist wars for us will not give the military sufficient recruits to say nothing of the immorality of such a policy.
Charles Rangel's legislation is not the only bit of evidence feeding this perspective. There have been several whistle-blowing Bush insiders who have leaked Bush's intentions to institute a military draft or at the very least a mandatory conscription for some kind of national service for everyone who reaches a certain age. They may not call it a draft, but if it works like a draft, and it conscripts people into the military unwillingly, then it is by any other name still a draft. It is a matter of policy and arithmetic. You can not invade the entire world with the National Guard, Reserve Units, and foreign mercenaries. At least I don't believe that one can do this and do it seriously and well which is the assumption. Imperial powers don't invade other countries with weak armies that are destined to fail. At least they don't do it for very long. It is not the goal of imperial powers to engage in failed invasions and occupations, although that is often the outcome.
I obviously don't want a military draft but it seems inevitable that it is coming. And once it comes it does seem that it would enhance the antiwar movement. So why would the fascists risk strengthening an antiwar movement? I believe that they believe that they could crush any antiwar movement with their patriotism rhetoric and with the so-called Patriot Act in place to repress dissenters as "terrorists." Anyone who thinks the government wouldn't try to demonize dissent as terrorism should think again in my view.
It may prove to be a mistake but I think the fascists are willing to risk the obvious problems that a draft would pose as it is the only way they can really reach their goal of full and absolute global hegemony. Greed may be their ultimate downfall if they don't destroy the planet first in the process of trying to possess and control it. Madness makes insane men do very crazy things I'm afraid. And is there anything crazier than a global empire? I think not!!
Sincerely,
Old & In The Way
Posted by: Phil Cicchi at October 24, 2004 08:39 PM
The market at work.
I got into a disgreement in my law and economics class about problems with a market in organs.. he wouldn't back down, but I wonder if this would make my economics professor pause?
Your point is good, and the evidence is just nauseating. And what a rotten confluence - some of the new recruits may be trained or supervised by death-squad (for example Pinochet-era) "experts.." as Sandline and Blackwater seem to like to recruit such. Their previous experience was probably a bonus beyond desperation.
Posted by: ripley at October 25, 2004 01:59 AM